Strength sports, as an endeavour, are simultaneously a modern, and pre-modern, sport. Accounts of men engaging in contests date back to the Chinese practice of lifting heavy stones and cauldrons in 6000 BC (Hai-sheng, 2012). Likewise, Ancient Greece, Rome and Egypt, among other regions, had strength cultures (Crowther, 2007). That withstanding, strength contests and feats,… Continue reading A Brief History of Strongman
The basic concept of lying on a bench and taking a bar from arm's length to the chest and back is a very simple one. However, bench pressing with maximum efficiency and power is an extremely exacting art relying on many major and minor principles and utilizing the coordination of the many muscles involved. While there is… Continue reading Bill Kazmaier, ‘Bench Pressing Style And Technicalities’, Bill Kazmaier and the Bench Press (1981), 4-6
Today's short post comes primarily from Nigel B. Crowther's wonderful chapter on Ancient Chinese sport and physical education. Looking primarily at Chinese physical cultures, Crowther found that weightlifting, archery, weight throwing, tug of war, boxing and a host of other activities were practiced by Chinese men. Of interest to us today, was the use of Ding's as… Continue reading Ding Lifting in Ancient China
At the end of the nineteenth century a new interest in muscle- building arose, not muscle just as a means of survival or of defending oneself, but a return to the Greek ideal-muscular development as a celebration of the human body. The ancient tradition of stone-lifting evolved into the modem sport of weightlifting. As the… Continue reading ‘History and Evolution,’ Arnold Schwarzenegger Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding (New York: 1987), 30-38.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnh9fI106_Q Thomas Inch is one of the most fascinating physical culturists of the twentieth century. He was a pivotal figure in the organisation of British weightlifting, helped coach Arthur Saxon and was a great strong man in his own right. Rarely do we get to see weightlifters in the twilight of their careers. Produced in… Continue reading Thomas Inch in Later Life
Since its inception in the late 1970s, the World's Strongest Man Competitions have used a variety of tests to determine one's strength. In the past this has included deadlifting blocks of cheese, running with refrigerators and the iconic Atlas Stones. Some events become mainstays while others, like the aforementioned cheese deadlifts slip quickly from our… Continue reading Sumo Wrestling at the World’s Strongest Man
Constant practice is the only way in which one may succeed in raising a heavy weight in this position. It will, no doubt, be useful to read below how the lift is performed, but it will be no use to expect an immediate increase in your present lift simply by reading my instructions as to… Continue reading Arthur Saxon, ‘The Bent Press’, THE DEVELOPMENT OF PHYSICAL POWER (LONDON, 1906)
The World's Strongest Man competition is undoubtedly one of my favourite events each year. We get to see some of the world's strongest athletes push, pull and push a variety of objects. As slick as the modern contests are, there is a certain undeniable magic to the early iterations. From cheese deadlifts to sumo wrestling,… Continue reading Fridge Racing at the World’s Strongest Man
Earlier this year we were treated to perhaps the most exciting Arnold Strongman Classic to date. We saw Hafthor Bjornsson win the event for the second year in a row with a domineering display of power. The 'Wheel of Pain' from Conan the Barbarian made an appearance and it was joined by an exact replica… Continue reading The Birth of the Arnold Strongman Classic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dr9yUmYF7T4&list=PLOLn97IoZOb7WhKxje0uP7BYOB8QDbCr4&index=4 My love of old British Pathé footage aside, the above video marks a rather remarkable insight into the still existent world of strongmen training in 1960s Britain. Harold Cope, our Derby lifter shown here, is still doing many of the strongman feats found at the beginning of the century. What impressed me most about this… Continue reading British Pathé 1960s British Strongman
